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NewsvineFollowing governmental action, students at Stanford and across the country should soon have access to more choices and information so they can reduce the costs of attending college.
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The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, signed into law by President Bush on Aug. 14, targets student loans and textbook prices. In addition, the law simplifies financial aid applications and extends grants for low-income students. The bill had made its way through Congress as an update to prior legislation.
While the full implications of the 1,100-page legislation will take time to be assessed, its impact on some students’ cost of living could come as soon as this fall, when students old and new shop for their autumn-quarter books. The law forces textbook publishers to make “unbundled” versions of main course textbooks available. These textbooks often had been packaged with additional course materials, such as workbooks and supplementary CDs. The law also aims to make information about pricing more transparent for both students and faculty.
Director of Financial Aid Karen Cooper noted that the legislation could have broad implications, not limited to a potential impact on book costs.
“It does a lot of tweaking of the federal financial aid program,” Cooper said. “The transparency of book costs is just a small part of that bill.”
The law could play a role in the Financial Aid Office’s assessments of expected student costs. Stanford compiles data for its “textbook allowance” for financial aid based largely on student surveys. Currently, students are expected to incur $1,455 in yearly book costs for the 2008-09 academic year. Results from the upcoming year’s surveys, sent out during spring quarter, will provide an indication as to whether the law has checked growing costs.
“We try to get a picture of the full costs, not just what we bill,” Cooper said.
In addition to assessing the effects of the act, Stanford is taking some steps of its own to address student book costs. University Registrar Thomas Black, in an email to The Weekly, discussed an upcoming effort to make course textbook information available through Axess, drawing upon information from the Stanford Bookstore’s vendor.
“One of the projects we have scheduled this year is writing an interface between Axess and eFollett.com,” Black said. eFollett is the vendor for the Stanford Bookstore.
“Such an interface will make it easier for students to identify the materials they should secure for the courses they have selected,” he added.
This measure would be in keeping with the legislation’s aim to promote greater transparency. Black noted that the interface, ideally, would allow students to have a listing of the course materials they need and find the option that works for them. He also said the system could provide students more time to compare options.
“We haven’t worked out the details — and student input is welcome — but we hope that the information will be complete, including ISBN codes, so students may shop with other vendors as desired for price, service, vendor loyalty, etc.,” Black noted. “We hope to encourage our faculty to select and designate their materials before Axess opens each quarter so students will have ample time to shop for their course materials.”
While the law will affect the broader picture of higher education, few changes are expected at the Stanford Bookstore, according to Director of Stores Ken Bowers.
“We don’t see radical changes coming as a result of the bill,” Bowers said. He emphasized that the decision to stock lower- or higher-priced books comes down to faculty decisions.
“As far as we’re concerned, we will sell what the faculty asks us to sell,” Bowers said. “We don’t act as an independent adjudicator of what the faculty assigns their students.”
He added that faculty, particularly at higher-level universities, often have to balance a concern for students’ pockets with ensuring the best possible materials.
“[With] Stanford being a level-one research university, there’s a lot of thought from professors about what students really need to learn,” Bowers said. “It’s a real dilemma for faculty.”
While textbook prices will likely continue to be a concern for most students, “The more we can do to keep those book prices down, the better it is for students,” Cooper said.